Flames
by KS02
Summary: Edward and Roy are sent on a mission to investigate an abandoned hospital, supposedly hosting terrorist activity. However, things take a turn for the worst- when the suspects decide to use a fatal tactic to outwit the soldiers. In the end, at least they weren't alone when the flames took over. Warning: Character death and mild yaoi.


**A/N - Hello, everyone. I'm back. This one is a bit different to the other Parental RoyEd fics I've done, but not by much. Only that this one is an** _ **innocent**_ **Yaoi fic. Anyway, without further ado. Enjoy!**

 **Notice:**

 **I will also make a Parental RoyEd version of this for those of you not into Yaoi, however the story will be a little different. Don't worry, it'll just be altered a bit to better fit the new theme.**

 **Context:**

 **Ed is 20 years old, and Roy is 36** _ **-so it's set after his birthday but just before Ed's.**_

 **Disclaimer - I don't own** ' _ **Fullmetal Alchemist.'**_

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Roy stood there, staring blankly at the fire that threatened to engulf his existence. The flames roared wild and dangerous in the hallway, trapping anything and everything in its path, and demolishing it down to dust. It was a common sight for the colonel. Fire. And he _-despite everything-_ loved it. The smell of smoke, the crackling like fireworks shooting to the stars, and the colours. The colours!

They were so vibrant and beautiful, Roy could never look away from them. As though his gaze had been stolen by that of a hypnotist. Maybe that was why he was so drawn to Ed. All those bright shades with an eye catching appearance. He reminded Mustang of a gentle fire beneath a wooden structure on a cold, Winter's night. He could have said _calm fire-_ but that would have been grammatically incorrect. Edward was hyper. An upbeat man who went about life as though he was his own flame, dancing in the thick air.

Roy loved Ed for that. Although, Mustang himself was quaint and - _generally-_ quite tranquil. Nothing like the fire he could create at the tips of his figures. And most certainly nothing like his lover. Though was he envious? No. Not in the slightest. The saying of ' _opposites attract'_ served as a lifeline in their relationship, and Roy was thankful. Suppose there was some description of ' _Equivalent Exchange'_ in his life. Right?

Wrong.

Roy couldn't have been more incorrect. The fire in the hall burned all to venomously. A hazard. And an evil one at that. He glared daggers at the omen. The flames that had once reminded him of Ed, the ones with a beautiful glow and vibrant colours, were gone. They shone with a hellish glow, and the colours were as red as the anger Roy saw fill his vision. Yet he still couldn't look away. He just couldn't. If there was a reason why, Mustang sure wanted to know it.

A sudden sound shot through the air, dragging Roy back from his thoughts as it continued behind him. However, he didn't dare look back. He was too afraid. Too afraid to face the person he'd grown to love, and see them in this state. It was too heartbreaking for him. The volume of the noise peaked slightly, as a small whimper escaped their mouth. Roy cursed, mentally. More at himself than who was further down the corridor. He heard what sounded like a quick sigh, or a pain filled gasp erupt also, causing Roy to flinch with guilt.

"Roy?" The person whispered, struggling and shuffling into a seated position facing the man. "What happened?"

Mustang's stomach felt like it was doing gymnastics, and his abdomen was the gym. How the hell was he suppose to answer that? 'Sorry, love, you're dead now'- God no! He couldn't. He wouldn't! That was, if he had the choice. Roy _-with immense difficulty-_ turned back slightly to look over at Edward, who was leaning on his left side against the plastered wall. He stared at the man with curiosity, and… fear? Wait. What? Mustang had never seen Ed scared before. At least not in a situation like this. Then again, neither of them really had been in a situation like this in real life.

"It's alright," he whispered, voice cracking ever so slightly, "They're gone."

Edward slowly stood up, using the wall to balance himself as he trudged over to Roy, who watched him edge closer. The blonde stopped next to the man, and became entranced by the fire-engulfed hallway. He stared blankly, just like Roy had, out at the flames as they spun and twisted in midair. Almost ' _like they are dancing.'_ Mustang frowned, and turned to look as well.

"Who's 'they'?" Ed questioned after a moment of silence. Roy continued to gaze out, but instead, the blonde had now turned to look at him, inquiring an answer. He had no choice.

"They' are the terrorist group that attacked us here, in the abandoned hospital." Roy paused- but Edward's expression - _unfortunately-_ told him to continue. "We were downstairs, on the first floor when they first ambushed us. There wasn't many. About seven, maybe? Either way we fought them well enough. Roughly three of them were knocked out, but the other four retreated to the upper floor. This floor. We chased them up but… the group had already multiplied." Mustang took in a deep breathe, psyching himself up for ' _part two.'_

"They were smart. Whilst we were fighting below, their back-up had been planting a bomb at the end of the hall. Hence the flames ahead of us. They stood there for approximately ten seconds, before running downstairs." He paused. "But even that was a decoy. The bomb went off _-not powerful enough to reach or hurt us though-_ and the group had vanished when the smoke was thick. Or so I had thought." Roy paused again, bringing his right hand up to rub his eyes, guiltily.

"God- I'm so sorry, Ed." He whispered. The blonde looked back up at him, still slightly confused. A horrified look suddenly passed over him- as realisation abruptly struck, "Two of their men had ran around to find another stairwell- apart from the one next to us. One had brought a handgun with them, and had aimed it at your back. But I had noticed. I ran and blocked you, then tried to jump to the side. He fired four shots at us. Three hit my back as we fell, but…" he trailed off, "I think the last one hit you."

Edward stared at him. Haunted, gold eyes wide with terror. He prayed that he was hearing this wrong. He prayed collectively, to a God he didn't believe in that Roy was lying. However, Roy never lied. One way or another, Ed always got the truth out of him. So why would this be any different? Panic stricken, Edward slowly backed up a few steps, and turned to look down the hallway behind him. Hearing him shift, Mustang glanced at the blonde to see what the commotion was-

And Ed screamed.

He clamped his hands over his mouth, and stared at the two bodies laying on the floor. He froze, taking in a sharp, shaky breath, before collapsing to his knees in despair. Roy dropped down with him, frightened as he pondered what to do.

"Ed, It's alright." He soothed, hugging the blonde. "It's alright."

"No it's not," Edward whispered, "It's not 'alright!"

His breathing began to quicken- as tears stung his dull eyes. Edward took a few deep breaths- before rapidly turning to bury his face against Roy's left shoulder, crying openly into the blue fabric of the man's paraphernalia. Ed clutched the sleeves in a desperate attempt to turn this entire ordeal, into just another nightmare that he could wake up from, and calm himself by watching the sun rise through the thin curtains.

Although that wasn't going to happen, was it? Roy hugged Ed carefully, as he felt tears well up his own black orbs. He willingly blinked them away as to not alert or upset the blonde any further. He glanced down the corridor, away from the flames, to look at his and Edward's corpses with fury.

When they had jumped, Roy had held Ed in front of him in order to shield him from the bullets. Now, the colonel lay on his right side, blood-stained and bullet-filled back facing the aggressive flames since toppling over upon impact. However, he still loosely held the blonde in his limp arms. Whilst Edward lay on his own back, face turned towards Roy, with a bullet in his stomach, and blood dripping from his mouth in a steady, thin flow of crimson.

He turned away abruptly, and glared at the cool, tiled floor with fury in his eyes. Mustang unconsciously clenched his fists, tightly on Edward's clothing. A slight yelp emitted from the blonde, acknowledging the colonel's frustration, and quickly dragging him back from his thoughts. Roy sighed.

"Hey," he rested his chin atop of Ed's head. "We shouldn't stay here." Mustang began gently rubbing the blonde's back, in hopes of catching his attention. Having managed to, Ed nodded his head slowly in agreement.

"Yeah," he whispered, "You're right."

The grip on the colonel's jacket slackened, leaving Edward's arms to lay limply on his lap. Golden bangs hung over his face as he backed his head from the blue fabric. Roy warily took Ed's shoulders, and softly kissed his forehead reassuringly. A small grin graced the blonde's lips, as he placed cool hands over Roy's. The man held them, slowly got up, and pulled Ed into standing with him. Once again, the two glimpsed back at their corpses, now surprised to see the raging fire hovering over their heads. Spiritually, and literally.

Roy marvelled once more at the glimmering colours, standing out so brightly against the black smoke- that served as a canvas for their smudged, pastel shades. He watched, entranced by the way they moved so lively and happily, even in such a grim situation.

' _When had the flames grown so much?'_ He thought.

An abrupt thought struck Mustang, and made him smile. He reminisced back to when he first asked Edward out, over three years ago. And what he thought when he saw the flames earlier. Roy had always used fire to describe Ed from the moment he met him, because it was such a perfect resemblance. His eyes, hair, personality, and old attire all served the simile beautifully. Now here they were. Standing under a huge balcony of the phenomenon. With nothing more than the ghost of each other for company. He laughed slightly, alerting Edward.

"What's wrong?" He asked, more worried than curious at this point. Roy glanced back at the blonde, that awed smile still plastered on his face. Ed stared at him, confused.

"W-what are you so happy about?" He stuttered, gripping Mustang's hands a little tighter now.

The man let go of the blonde's left hand, and used the other to spin him around elegantly. He jumped slightly, startled by the motion, but followed nonetheless. He fell back from the loss of balanced- and was quickly _-but gently-_ pulled back towards Roy who caught him before he collapsed. Mustang laughed at Edward's façade in composure and general clumsiness, seeing as the blonde had practically toppled over towards Roy rather than spinning or stepping.

"Don't tell me you've never danced before?"

Ed blushed.

"Shut up, bastard."

He looked at the floor, embarrassed by the colonel's comment.

"So what if I haven't?"

Roy only chuckled, shaking his head. He held Edward's right hand in his left, and placed his free hand just above his waist. Ed rested his own left hand on the colonel's shoulder, glancing around at how they were standing, clearly confused.

"Okay… now what? How the hell can people move standing like this?"

Roy bit his lips to stifle a laugh that fought to be heard. He promptly collected himself, and spoke softly to try and calm Ed. Therefore, not agitating him even more.

"Just follow me, ok?"

He took a step back, as Ed did the same. Literally.

"The other way, Edward."

"Piss off."

The blonde placed his left foot forward as - _common sense wise-_ instructed. Roy stepped to the side, followed by Ed. Then forward. Across. And down.

Back, forward, across, and down.

Back, forward, across, and down.

Back, forward, across, and down.

The two repeated those simple steps multiple times over. Surprisingly, neither had stepped on one another yet. And instead, just danced. Peacefully. Ed laughed as the rhythm picked up its pace. He stole a glance up at Roy, a smirk appearing on his face as he pushed away, spun around, then stepped back, easily.

' _No wonder the kid learned alchemy so fast.'_

Mustang gaped at him in awe, amazed by his gracefulness. He smiled happily at Edward- as they twisted and turned, pivoted and stepped. There was no music for them to move to- but that didn't matter. The flames crackling around them served as their beat. The couple danced in the fire that formed like a shelter above and around them. Unprofessionally, stupidly, and clumsily making up their own moves as they went. Although, no one was there to judge them now. The two twisted and turned, pivoted and stepped. All until they had ran out of energy. And stopped.

Ed and Roy slowly halted the dance, just standing there thinking, in the hold of one another's arms. Edward was the first to break the sorrowful silence. His voice so gentle and quiet, Roy strained to hear it over the fire.

"You know. It would have been my birthday tomorrow," he said, a slight catch in his throat at the reminder, "I don't know what to do about that now."

Roy's eyes widened as he briefly tightened his grip on Ed. He sighed and looked down at him before pushing him back a bit. Smiling sadly. The blonde returned his gaze, the confusion returning with a different type of glint in golden orbs this time.

"Wait a second." Roy whispered.

He let go, and began to shakingly walk over to his body. Knees nearly buckling in the process. The colonel knelt to the ground before his corpse, and shuffled about his trouser pockets. Ed watched, intrigued by Mustang's abrupt actions. He stood with his arms crossed over his chest, each side of his long, black coat clutched in both hands as a mechanism for his stubbornness. Roy began strolling back over, one hand seemingly holding something in its grasp. He stood in front of Edward with the same, sad smile as before, and lifted up his right hand to present a little, black box. Roy looked at Ed, whose eyes were wider than the sun itself. Only, the sun couldn't hold tears on its rim. Nor grin as happily.

"I never got the chance to give you this alive, nor how I had planned to, so. I'd like you to have it now."

Edward was frozen to the spot, tears streaming down his face uncontrollably. Roy used his other hand to lift up the lid of the little, black box, and glimpsed at his lover to see his reaction. There. Inside a slit, silk, silver cushion. Was a gold ring, with a thin red band running through the centre. Ed gasped, and silently sobbed into his sleeve-covered hands.

"If you could have," Roy trailed off. "Would you have married me?"

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 **A/N - There you have it, I hope you all liked it- but** _ **please**_ **don't kill me for the ending... Feel free to leave a review on what you thought, and I'll try to get a Parental version uploaded as soon as I can.**

 **Until next time!**

 _ **~KS02**_


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